In a town hall in Derry, Bernie Sanders also started his event by referencing the troubles in the Hawkeye State.
"As some of you know, they are still counting the votes in Iowa," Sanders said.
"I assume, one of these years, that vote count will be completed," Sanders said to chuckles from the crowd, as Sanders remains in a one-two race with Pete Buttigieg in Iowa.
But no one can declare victory in Iowa just yet, as the issue clearly remained a sore spot for the candidates.
Bernie Sanders in Derry, NH, notes that he’s leading the popular vote, if not delegate count, in Iowa.
— Nik DeCosta-Klipa (@NikDeCostaKlipa) February 5, 2020
“I assume that one of these years that vote count will be completed.” pic.twitter.com/98ghJPS0AW
.@JoeBiden in Somersworth, NH on Iowa caucuses: "At this rate, New Hampshire will be the first in the country to get to vote. I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. We took a gut punch in Iowa ... But look, this isn't the first time in my life I've been knocked down."
— Kendall Karson (@kendallkarson) February 5, 2020
.@AndrewYang with a very Andrew Yang take on the #IACaucus: "One reason I'm pumped to be here in New Hampshire is you are going to vote February 11, and when will we find out the results? February 11."
— Johnny Verhovek (@JTHVerhovek) February 6, 2020
As of 11:15 pm ET on Wednesday night, 96 percent of Iowa precincts were reporting. This is the top five:
Pete Buttigieg - 26.4 percent
Bernie Sanders - 25.7 percent
Elizabeth Warren - 18.3 percent
Joe Biden - 15.8 percent
Amy Klobuchar 12.1 percent
While Buttigieg led in what's referred to as 'State Delegate Equivalents' - Sanders was leading in raw vote totals at the caucus, both on the first ballot, and after voters realigned with other campaigns.
Buttigieg remained close behind Sanders in both of those Iowa metrics.
But even as the Iowa Democratic Party released more vote totals on Wednesday, officials at one point had to correct their latest update.
There will be a minor correction to the last batch of results and we will be pushing an update momentarily.
— Iowa Democrats (@iowademocrats) February 5, 2020
The lack of a definitive winner several days after Iowa deprived either Sanders or Buttigieg of the chance to take advantage of that in a public way on the stump in the Granite State - but one tracking poll suggests that Buttigieg may be seeing a boost in New Hampshire.
That will be something to watch as Tuesday's New Hampshire Primary nears - and as Democrats get closer to actually knowing the winner in Iowa.
The Iowa Secretary of State - who is not involved at all in the caucus vote counting - said Democrats were right not to be in a rush.
"The accuracy of the Iowa Democratic Party's vote totals is much more important than the timeliness of releasing the results," said Paul Pate, an Iowa Republican.
The Iowa GOP knows that all too well - as back in 2012, Mitt Romney was declared the winner on caucus night by just eight votes - but two weeks later, the party acknowledged that there were counting mistakes, and ultimately said Rick Santorum was the narrow winner.
Romney went on to win the Republican nomination, while Santorum said he was deprived of the momentum he might have gained by winning in Iowa on caucus night.
About the Author